SalonCon 2009!
We have secured the September 5th date, darlings. I know it is not preferred that it would be over Labor Day Weekend, but as it's a historical spot, weddings get preference. This was the best date we could get (and honestly we were lucky to get it). The gardens are really lovely. In my college days, slim1979 would be convinced by my finishing school dropout self to cut Geology and we would zip over the to the gardens in my convertible and smell the roses, roll down the hills, and walk through all the lush greenery. Some of my happiest memories are there, and I hope you will find it similiarly pleasing. I will also be doing my best to get some tour guides for those who want to really learn about the gardens.
New FAQ:
How will SalonCon be different than years past?
In a lot of ways!
1. We will be holding it at the
Rutgers Botanical Gardens, which is a historical location with a weather proof log cabin and pavilion.
2. Our location means a limited guest list (around as many people as we had last year) with more exclusive vendor opportunities.
3. Our hours will be from 12pm - 9pm, which gives everyone more opportunities for after hour parties at the hotel.
4. Our evening format will have changed. There will be no hour change over, the log cabin will already be decorated all day. There will be an evening recital with a reading from Catherynne M. Valente and then a performance by Sooj. Following that will be a full Victorian Ball (there will be instructions earlier that day). We will look into being able to have a modern ball going on simultaneously as well.
5. We will be doing a full tea catered by Teaberry’s at 12:30pm, with a performance by Kwannon. There will be lawn games (weather permitting) going on simultaneously.
6. There will be a dinner hour where you can either bring food for yourselves, or purchase (in advance) a box dinner.
7. Our charity will be SOS, saveours00j.
8. There will still be three tracks, one will be workshop based, one will be salon based, and one will be outdoor games based (weather permitting).
9. Tickets in advance will be a straight $25. We fully expect to sell out, so it’s a good idea to get them asap. If there happen to be a few tickets left, they will be $40 at the door. Because of this, our exclusive LJ Community 24 Hour Sale will be to give you the first bite of the apple, you will have the first opportunity to buy tickets before anyone else. Rumor has it, this will happen in early Febuary.
10. There will be a Steampunk themed meetup at the hotel on Friday night, at the hotel’s restaurant. There will be a nominal entrance fee to cover hor’deorves and a cash bar will be available.
11. We will have another meetup on Sunday to give everyone a chance to dress in their finest (Neo-Victorian, Steampunk, etc.) to go to The Zimmerli Museum which is a beautiful little museum that has amazing exhibits and costs a mere $3 for entry, giving you yet another chance to play dress up *and* support the arts.
Q. This is not my beautiful house! Why has there been so many changes?
A. To be completely honest my darlings, the hard cold fact is that convention is extremely expensive and time consuming to run. This is not a fantastic economy, people can afford much less than they have in previous years.
I’ve also discussed last year’s event in detail with my staff. We want to continue to provide you with a quality event. Conventions are run primarily by volunteers, and they do this out of the good of their hearts and for the love of the game. We need to be realistic about what can be done on a volunteer basis and running our poor volunteers into the ground does no one any good.
Additionally, we think that it’s good for an event to have some change to it so it’s not same same every year. We want to have a chance to get closer to our original vision of a Neo-Victorian event. What could be more Neo-Victorian than a full Victorian ball? Or a walk in the gardens? Getting the chance to play lawn games? Having a séance in a historical location?
On a personal note, it’s been a difficult past few years for me, I’ve lost a lot of people I love to Lady Death. I am also going through a divorce, which as anyone who’s been through one can attest to the painfulness and difficulty of it. I want to give you a quality event but one that I can realistically produce for you.
I hope you will support us in this exciting new chapter of SalonCon.
oxox,
Deborah
Minitrix of Organization
New FAQ:
How will SalonCon be different than years past?
In a lot of ways!
1. We will be holding it at the
Rutgers Botanical Gardens, which is a historical location with a weather proof log cabin and pavilion.
2. Our location means a limited guest list (around as many people as we had last year) with more exclusive vendor opportunities.
3. Our hours will be from 12pm - 9pm, which gives everyone more opportunities for after hour parties at the hotel.
4. Our evening format will have changed. There will be no hour change over, the log cabin will already be decorated all day. There will be an evening recital with a reading from Catherynne M. Valente and then a performance by Sooj. Following that will be a full Victorian Ball (there will be instructions earlier that day). We will look into being able to have a modern ball going on simultaneously as well.
5. We will be doing a full tea catered by Teaberry’s at 12:30pm, with a performance by Kwannon. There will be lawn games (weather permitting) going on simultaneously.
6. There will be a dinner hour where you can either bring food for yourselves, or purchase (in advance) a box dinner.
7. Our charity will be SOS, saveours00j.
8. There will still be three tracks, one will be workshop based, one will be salon based, and one will be outdoor games based (weather permitting).
9. Tickets in advance will be a straight $25. We fully expect to sell out, so it’s a good idea to get them asap. If there happen to be a few tickets left, they will be $40 at the door. Because of this, our exclusive LJ Community 24 Hour Sale will be to give you the first bite of the apple, you will have the first opportunity to buy tickets before anyone else. Rumor has it, this will happen in early Febuary.
10. There will be a Steampunk themed meetup at the hotel on Friday night, at the hotel’s restaurant. There will be a nominal entrance fee to cover hor’deorves and a cash bar will be available.
11. We will have another meetup on Sunday to give everyone a chance to dress in their finest (Neo-Victorian, Steampunk, etc.) to go to The Zimmerli Museum which is a beautiful little museum that has amazing exhibits and costs a mere $3 for entry, giving you yet another chance to play dress up *and* support the arts.
Q. This is not my beautiful house! Why has there been so many changes?
A. To be completely honest my darlings, the hard cold fact is that convention is extremely expensive and time consuming to run. This is not a fantastic economy, people can afford much less than they have in previous years.
I’ve also discussed last year’s event in detail with my staff. We want to continue to provide you with a quality event. Conventions are run primarily by volunteers, and they do this out of the good of their hearts and for the love of the game. We need to be realistic about what can be done on a volunteer basis and running our poor volunteers into the ground does no one any good.
Additionally, we think that it’s good for an event to have some change to it so it’s not same same every year. We want to have a chance to get closer to our original vision of a Neo-Victorian event. What could be more Neo-Victorian than a full Victorian ball? Or a walk in the gardens? Getting the chance to play lawn games? Having a séance in a historical location?
On a personal note, it’s been a difficult past few years for me, I’ve lost a lot of people I love to Lady Death. I am also going through a divorce, which as anyone who’s been through one can attest to the painfulness and difficulty of it. I want to give you a quality event but one that I can realistically produce for you.
I hope you will support us in this exciting new chapter of SalonCon.
oxox,
Deborah
Minitrix of Organization